Printing press drive

ABSTRACT

A PRINTING PRESS INCLUDES A PAIR OF CYLINDERS FOR SIMULTANEOUSLY PRINTING MATERIAL. THE CYLINDERS HAVE SHAFT ENDS THEREON FOR SUPPORT THEREOF. THE PRESS ALSO INCLUDES A DRIVE MEANS FOR TRANSMITTING TORQUE FROM A SOURCE OF POWER TO ONE OF THE CYLINDERS. THE DRIVE MEANS INCLUDES A WORM DRIVINGLY CONNECTED TO THE SOURCE OF POWER WHICH TRANSMITS TORQUE TO ANOTHER GEAR MESHING THEREWITH. THE DRIVE MEANS ALSO INCLUDES A CLUTCH WHICH HAS A BODY ROTATABLY MOUNTED ABOUT ONE OF THE SHAFT ENDS OF THE CYLINDERS AND HAS A CIRCUMFERENTIAL SURFACE PORTION THEREABOUT. THE BODY HAS A RADIAL FLANGE EXTENDING FROM THE CIRCUMFERENTIAL SURFACE PORTION. THE OTHER GEAR, WHICH MESHES WITH THE WORM, HAS CENTRALLY LOCATED APERTURE THEREIN AND RECEIVES THE CIRCUMFERENTIAL SURFACE PORTION OF THE BODY. THE OTHER GEAR IS MOUNTED ON THE BODY SUCH THAT ITS ROTATIONAL AXIS IS COEXTENSIVE WITH THE ROTATIONAL AXIS OF THE SHAFT END UPON WHICH THE CLUTCH BODY IS MOUNTED. THE OTHER GEAR HAS FIRST AND SECOND SIDES ADJACENT TO THE CENTRALLY LOCATED APERTURE. THE OTHER GEAR IS POSITIONED ON THE BODY SUCH THAT THE FIRST SIDE IS ADJACENT TO THE RADIAL FLANGE AND THE SECOND SIDE IS ADJACENT TO A PORTION OF A FIRST MEMBER SO THAT THE FLANGE ENGAGES THE FIRST SIDE AND THE FIRST MEMBER ENGAGES THE SECOND SIDE OF THE OTHER GEAR. WHEN A CLAMPING FORCE IS PROVIDED ON THE OTHER GEAR BETWEEN THE RADIAL FLANGE OF THE BODY AND THE FIRST MEMBER, TORQUE IS TRANSMITTED FROM THE OTHER GEAR TO THE BODY AND FIRST MEMBER. A SECOND MEMBER IS SECURED TO THE SHAFT END OF THE CYLINDER AND A THIRD MEMBER IS NONROTATABLY SECURED TO THE BODY AND FIRST MEMBER. THE THIRD MEMBER IS MOVABLE WITH RESPECT THERETO BETWEEN A FIRST OR TORQUE TRANSMITTING POSITION IN WHICH A PORTION OF THE PIN MEMBER IS ENGAGED WITH THE THIRD MEMBER AND A SECOND OR DISENGAGED POSITION IN WHICH A PORTION OF THE PIN MEMBER IS NO LONGER ENGAGED WITH THE THIRD MEMBER.

E. H.1'REFF ETAL 3,606,800

PRIN TING PRESS DRIVE Filed April 20, 1970 20iil L m FIG.I

58 INVENTOR.

ERNEST H TREFF ATTORNEYS HENRY M. CLAKKI JR.

United States Patent cc 3,606,800 PRINTING PRESS DRIVE Ernest H. Tretf, Groton, Conn., and Henry M. Clarke,

Jr., Westerly, R.I., assignors to Harris-Intertype Corporation, Cleveland, Ohio Filed Apr. 20, 1970, Ser. No. 30,140 Int. Cl. F16d 11/10; F16h 1/16, 57/00 U.S. Cl. 74-405 8 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A printing press includes a pair of cylinders for simultaneously printing material. The cylinders have shaft ends thereon for support thereof. The press also includes a drive means for transmitting torque from a source of power to one of the cylinders. The drive means includes a worm drivingly connected to the source of power which transmits torque to another gear meshing therewith. The drive means also includes a clutch which has a body rotatably mounted about one of the shaft ends of the cylinders and has a circumferential surface portion thereabout. The body has a radial flange extending from the circumferential surface portion. The other gear, which meshes with the worm, has a centrally located aperture therein and receives the circumferential surface portion of the body. The other gear is mounted on the body such that its rotational axis is coextensive with the rotational axis of the shaft end upon which the clutch body is mounted. The other gear has first and second sides adjacent to the centrally located aperture. The other gear is positioned on the body such that the first side is adjacent to the radial flange and the second side is adjacent to a portion of a first member so that the flange engages the first side and the first member engages the second side of the other gear. When a clamping force is provided on the other gear between the radial flange of the body and the first member, torque is transmitted from the other gear to the body and first member. A second member is secured to the shaft end of the cylinder and a third member is nonrotatably secured to the body and first member. The third member is movable with respect thereto between a first or torque transmitting position in which a portion of the pin member is engaged with the third member and a second or disengaged position in which a portion of the pin member is no longer engaged with the third member.

This invention relates to a printing press drive, and more particularly, relates to a printing press including a worm gear drive and a clutch for drivingly engaging and disengaging a printing cylinder of the printing press with a source of power.

A multi-color printing press has a number of printing units. It is desirable in the design of such a press to enable certain printing units to be disabled, and more specifically, to be disconnected from a source of power such that they are not driven. There are a number of reasons for such, as is well known, but in the main this allows a lesser number of colors to be printed on the material. It is also desirous to provide a drive mechanism which limits the maximum amount of torque to be transmitted to the printing cylinder. Thus, when the unit becomes jammed, for example by sheet material, the drive does not continue to rotate the printing cylinders and thereby cause damage to the press. While the above are desirable in a printing press drive, it is also desirable to minimize the backlash in the drive so that a positive and accurate drive is provided.

The present invention is directed to a printing press drive having all of the above noted advantages. The

3,606,800 Patented Sept. 21, 1971 structure of the drive moreover is simple, reliable and durable.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved printing press drive which includes a simple, minimum backlash clutch mechanism for dri-vingly connecting a source of power to a printing cylinder such that the printing unit may be disengaged from the power source when it is desirable to not drive the printing unit.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a new and improved printing press drive which limits the torque transmitted from a power source to a printing cylinder so that if the printing cylinder is jammed, an excessive amount of torque will not be transmitted to the printing cylinder to thereby damage the printing press.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a new and improved multi-color printing press drive that is simple in construction and highly effective in operation and which includes a clutch to provide for disabling a printing unit of the multi-color press and a worm drive into the clutch.

Further objects, advantages and features of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art to which it relates from the following detailed description made with reference to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification and in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a printing press of the immediate invention having a number of printing units; and

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of one of the printing units shown in FIG. 1 taken along lines 2-2 thereof.

The present invention provides a perfecting printing press including a clutch for drivingly engaging and disengaging a printing cylinder of a printing press with a source of power. The press drive of the immediate invention allows one of the printing units of a multiple unit printing press to be disconnected from a source of power. An additional advantage is that the worm supplies the cylinder to which it is connected with a limited amount of torque such that if the printing unit becomes jammed, a greater amount of torque is not supplied thereto such that the printing press is damaged. The press drive of the present invention is simple and compact in structure and minimizes backlash when the clutch is in the engaged position. The present invention may be applied to printing presses of a Wide variety of constructions and designs and for purposes of illustration is described in the drawings as applied to the printing press 10 schematically shown in FIG. 1.

The printing press 10 has a number of printing units 12, 14 and 16. Each of the printing units 12, 14 and 16 print the sheet material 18 as it passes through a printing nip defined by a pair of blanket cylinders successively in different colors. The printing units 12, 14 and 16 are supplied with power from a power supply 20 through the drive means 22, schematically shown by dotted lines in FIG. 1. It should be understood that the drive means 22, representatively shown for each printing unit 12, 14 and 16, are identical for each of the printing units 12, :14 and 16.

Since different printing runs require a different number of colors to be printed on the sheet material .18, it is desirable to design the press 10 so that the printing units may be individually positioned in a non-printing position and disconnected from the source of power 20. When such a condition exists, the blanket cylinders of that printing unit do not rotate and allow the sheet material 18 to pass therearound without distorting or marking the printed image on the sheet material. Each of the printing units 12, 14- and 16 have identical drive units 22 associated therewith and for ease of description, the

drive mechanism 22, associated with the printing unit 12, is shown in FIG. 2 and will be described hereinafter.

The printing unit 12, shown in FIG. 2, includes blanket cylinders 24, 26 having shaft ends 28, 30 associated therewith for supporting the blanket cylinders 24, 26, respectively. The shaft ends 28, 30 are rotatably supported by the bearings 32, which are mounted in the frame 34 of the printing press, such that the blanket cylinders 24, 26 may rotate relative thereto. The shaft end 30 has a drive means 22 associated therewith for rotating the blanket cylinder 26.

The drive means 22 includes a worm 36 which is drivingly connected to the power supply 20. The source of power rotates worm 36 which meshes with an associated worm wheel 38. The gear or worm wheel 38 is designed to mesh with the worm 36 and has a first side 40 and a second side 42 which are adjacent to the gear teeth 44. The gear teeth 44 are designed to cooperate with the worm 36. The worm wheel 38 has a centrally located opening 46 extending between the first and second sides 40, 42 of the worm wheel 38.

The drive means 22 also includes a clutch 49. The clutch 49 has a body member 50 rotatably supported about the shaft end 30. The aperture 46 encircles and engages a circumferential surface portion 48 of the body member 50 such that the rotational axis of the worm Wheel 38 is coextensive with the rotational axis of the cylinder 26. The body 50 is rotatably mounted about the shaft end on bearings 52. The body 50 has a radial flange 54 extending from the circumferential surface portion 48, as seen in FIG. 2. A friction disk 56 is positioned between the first side 40 of the worm wheel 38 and the radial flange 54 such that the body 50 frictionally engages the worm wheel 38 when urged toward the radial flange 54 of the body 50.

In order to urge the worm Wheen 38 toward the radial flange 54, a first member or clamping member 58 is provided and has a portion 60 adjacent to the second side 42 of the worm wheel 38. The clamping member 58 extends about the circumferential surface portion 48 of the body 50 and is movable with respect thereto for applying a clamping force to the body 50.

Means for clamping the member 58 to the body 50, generally indicated at 62, include a plurality of threaded fasteners 64 extending through the openings 66 in the member 58 and threadedly engaged by the threaded openings 68 in the body 50. When the threaded fastener 64 is tightened, the member 58 is urged toward the radially extending flange 54 of the body 50 and the worm wheel 38 positioned therebetween is clamped thereby. When this clamping force is applied, the torque transmitted from the worm 36 to the worm wheel 38, is transmitted from the worm wheel 38 to the body 50 and clamping member 58 as a result of the friction existing between the worm wheel 38 and the radially extending flange 54 and clamping member 58.

The clutch 49 also includes a drive member, generally indicated at 70, to transmit torque from the body 50 and clamping member 58 to the member 72. The member 72 is secured to the shaft end 30 by any suitable means such as the key 74. The drive member 70 has pins 76 received by openings 78 in the clamping member 58 and body 50. The drive member 70 also includes a plate 80 connecting the pins 76 and having a knob 82 secured thereto. The knob 82 may be moved between a first position, generally indicated at 84, to a second position, generally indicated at 86. By moving the knob 82, the pins 76 may be moved to an engaged position 84 with respect to the member 72 and a disengaged position 86 in which the pins 76 are no longer engaged by the member 72 and torque is not transmitted from the body 50 and clamping member 58 to the member 72. It should be understood that it is not necessary to position the cylinders to any particular setting in order to engage or disengage the clutch 49. The movement of the knob 82, until the pins 76 are engaged 4 or disengaged, will correspondingly engage or disengage the clutch 49.

The drive member 70 is retained in an engaged position by the detent means 96. The detent means 96 includes a member such as the ball 98, urged toward the recess 100, when in the engaged position 84, and the recess 102, when in the disengaged position 86, by means of the spring 104. The ball 98 and spring 104 are received by an opening 106 in the clamping member 58 and enclosed on one end by a threaded fastener 108.

When the drive member 70 is in an engaged position 84, the ball 98 engages the recess 100 so that the drive member 70 is restrained from movement. In a like fashion, when the drive member 70 is in a disengaged position 86, the member 98 engages the recess 102 to retain the drive member 70 from movement so that the body 50 and clamping member 58 are no longer drivingly connected to the member 72.

When the drive member 70 is in the engaged position 84, the pins 76 are received by openings 88 in the member 72 such that torque is transmitted from the body 50* and clamping member 58 to the member 72. Since the member 72 is drivingly connected by the key 74 to the shaft end 30, the cylinder 26 is rotated thereby. It should be understood that since a number of pins 76 are utilized, that a minimum amount of backlash is realized since plurality of pins 76 create a more accurate alignment with less relative rotational movement between the body member 50 and clamping member 58 and member 72.

When the press is stopped and the knob 82 is pulled from an engaged position 84 to a disengaged position 86, the pins 76 are no longer received by the openings 88 and member 72 so that torque is no longer transmitted from the body 50 and clamping member 58 to the member 72. In this manner, the printing unit can be rendered inoperable.

The member 72 has a number of gear teeth 90 thereon disposed so as to mesh with the gear teeth 92 of the gear 94 which is drivingly connected to the shaft end 28 in a similar manner as described in connection with the member 72 drivingly connected to the shaft end 30-. Through the meshing of the teeth 90, 92, the member 72 drives the gear 94 so as to rotate the shaft end 28 and consequently the cylinder 24.

By providing such a printing press drive, it is possible to disengage one printing unit of the printing press and allow the printing press to continue running. In addition, if the sheet material being printed becomes jammed, an overload protection is provided in that the gear 42' will slip relative to members 50, 58 and damage will not occur to the unit. In addition, the drive 22 is simple and compact in structure and provides a minimum backlash.

What is claimed is:

1. A perfecting printing press comprising a pair of cylinders for simultaneously printing sheet material, said cylinders having shaft ends thereon, a drive means for transmitting torque from a source of power to one of said cylinders, said drive means including a worm gear drivingly connected to the source of power, a first gear having teeth thereon positioned to mesh with said worm gear so that torque is transmitted from the worm gear to the first gear, and a cluch having a body rotatably mounted about one of said shaft ends, said body having a circumferential surface portion thereabout and a radial flange extending therefrom, said first gear having a centrally located aperture therein adapted to be positioned on said body adjacent to the circumferential surface thereof such that the axis of said first gear is coextensive with the axis of said one shaft end, said first gear having first and second sides adjacent to said centrally located aperture, said first gear positioned such that said first side is adjacent to said radial flange of said body, a first member having a portion adjacent to said second side of said first gear, means for clamping said first member, said first gear and said body together so that when said first gear is clamped between said body and said first member torque is transmitted from said first gear to said body and said first member, a second member secured to said one shaft end, and a third member non-rotatably secured to said body and said first member and movable relative thereto between a first position in which a portion of said third member is engaged with the second member to transmit torque thereto and a second position in which said third member is disengaged from said second member such that torque is not transmitted from said body and said first member to said second member.

2. A perfecting printing press as defined in claim 1 wherein said drive means for transmitting torque from the source of power to one of said cylinders includes a friction disk positioned between said radially extending flange of said body and said first side of said first gear.

3. A perfecting printing press as defined in claim 1 wherein said third member includes a plurality of pins slidably engaged by said body, said second member having openings therein for receiving said pins, said pins being positionable in a first position in said openings in said second member such that torque is transmitted from said body to said second member or in a second position such that they are no longer engaged by said openings in said second member.

4. A perfecting printing press as defined in claim 3 wherein one of said pins has a first recess and a second recess therein, said clutch including detent means for engaging said first recess when said third member is in said first position and operable to engage said second recess when said third member is in said second position so that said third member is retained in the position to which it is moved.

5. A perfecting printing press as defined in claim 4 wherein said detent means includes a detent member biased toward said recesses and positioned such that said recesses may be aligned therewith.

6. A perfecting printing press as defined in claim 1 wherein said means for clamping said first gear to said body includes at least one threaded member received by Cit an opening in said first member and threadedly engaged by said body so that said first gear is clamped between said body and said first member.

7. A perfecting printing press as defined in claim 1 wherein said second member comprises a gear, said printing press further including a gear member drivingly connected to said shaft end of said other of said pair of cylinders, said gear member having gear teeth thereon meshing with the gear teeth of said second member.

8. A printing press comprising a pair of printing cylinders, first and second intermeshing gears drivingly con nected with the cylinders, and a drive means for transmitting torque from a source of power to said first gear, said drive means including a worm gear drivingly connected to the source of power, a third gear having teeth thereon positioned to mesh with said worm gear so that torque is transmitted from the worm gear to said third gear, and clutch means drivingly interconnecting said first and third gears, said clutch means including input means drivingly connected with said third gear, and at least a pair of pin members carried by said input means and movable relative thereto between a first position engaged in respective openings in said first gear to drivingly connect said input means and said first gear and a second position spaced from said first gear to drivingly disconnect said first gear and said input means.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,736,417 11/1929 Olson et a1. 74-405 2,045,572 6/1930 Dow 19256(R) 2,148,481 2/1939 Frank 19256(R) 2,882,013 4/1959 Margetts et a1. 74425X 3,161,014 12/1964 Abild 74-405X LEONARD H. GERIN, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 

